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Capitol Report: Iran’s Global Threat

Sep 11, 2015

Weekly Capitol Report

This week, I voted to stop the dangerous deal the Obama Administration negotiated to lift sanctions on Iran. I voted to protect Americans from the global threat posed by a nuclear Iran, because this is not a Republican issue or Democrat issue; this is an American security issue.

Iran is not a friend of the United States, and we should not enter into agreements with our enemies. The Iranian government is holding four Americans hostage, and those American citizens will not be returned with this deal. Just this week, Iran’s Ayatollah threatened Israel, our closest ally, and said Iran will not negotiate with the U.S. ever again. And you know what, after this deal, they won’t have to.

Under the deal, Iran receives up to $150 billion in sanctions relief, and the arms embargo is lifted in a couple of years. That is money our enemies can use to become the Central Bank for terror. Iran gets everything it wanted out of this deal and the United States gets nothing.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has called America the “Great Satan” and said Israel will not be around in 25 years. But still, the Obama Administration is willing to lift sanctions that unleash between $50-150 billion dollars to Iran for them to use against the U.S. Iran’s defense budget is estimated at between $15 and $30 billion dollars. Sanctions relief could fund Iran’s state sponsorship of terrorism for up to ten years! Some experts estimate United States sanctions alone tie up $60 billion that would otherwise be released to Iran.

The nuclear inspections requirement is a joke. Iran receives 24-day notice of inspections, and by then Iran will have had the time they need to cover up their deceitful actions. I’ve said it before, America requires surprise inspections on farms, manufacturing plants and restaurants; we should definitely require it of our enemy’s nuclear sites.

As we remember the 9/11 attacks on American soil, we are reminded that we must always stay vigilant. Making deals with our enemies only strengthens their resolve to destroy our democracy and way of life. May we never forget.